If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Here is an update on where I'm at with this...
I modified the feed guide to hold the ball gate in place under my adapter. I just cut off the "tube" part of it leaving what amounts to a black plastic washer...

I found that there was a nub molded into the Q socket that was preventing the feed guide from sitting squarely in the feedneck. I sanded this nub down until the feed guide and my adapter fit without a gap...

The one thing i don't like about the aluminum horizontal feed tube is that it makes it more difficult to take apart for cleaning. I have a couple ideas on how to modify the ends of the feed tube to alleviate this problem. I will be trying these out soon.

I really like this- it's looking really good.

I did the same thing to my 'top hat' ball guide- I assumed you had already done that.

I believe the lip in that section is there because the balls don't exit the pod at 90degrees (which is also why the opening in I.D. of the socket is oblong), and tilting the 'top hat' allows the rounds to enter the tube in line with the axis of the tubing (or in your case, the axis of the adapter).

I believe the lip in that section is there because the balls don't exit the pod at 90degrees (which is also why the opening in I.D. of the socket is oblong), and tilting the 'top hat' allows the rounds to enter the tube in line with the axis of the tubing (or in your case, the axis of the adapter).

I think you're right about this. I haven't had any feeding problems yet, but if I do this will be the first area I will be looking at.

I can always countour the inside of my adapter and what's left of the ball guide if I need to.

I believe the lip in that section is there because the balls don't exit the pod at 90degrees (which is also why the opening in I.D. of the socket is oblong), and tilting the 'top hat' allows the rounds to enter the tube in line with the axis of the tubing (or in your case, the axis of the adapter).

If we're all talking about the same thing, I think its actually just a molding error. Never attribute to design what can be attributed to poor craftsmanship?

If we're all talking about the same thing, I think its actually just a molding error. Never attribute to design what can be attributed to poor craftsmanship?

I seriously doubt it. Just to be clear, Levi posted a pic after he dremeled the tab off. It's a couple milimeters thick, about 5mm wide and about 5mm tall. When the top hat is pushed all the way down to it, it cants in the same direction as the balls leaving the pod (if you unlock an unsocketed, wound and loaded pod, you see that they don't exit at 90deg (to the central axis of the pod).

Levi, I suspect that the orientation is more important for those using the stock corrigated tubing as the balls would press first against the inner lip of the tophat and then against the side of the tubing. You've given the balls a smoother surface to rub against.

That's a good question for Levi. Do the ULE Warp bodies have fixed stovepipes or are they threaded? The Qloader 90 Elbows he's using require a flange on the stovepip to clamp around. If the ULE bodies stovepipe is removable, I don't think it would be much for Levi to make his own stovepipe with the necessary flange.

The QL 90deg elbow fittings in this arrangement each include a hose adapter.

The 'custom adapter' was comprised of the bottom portion of a tophat, some PVC pipe, JB Weld, a QL 90deg Ion Adapter (normally used to replace the feedneck on an ion) and some o-rings. I may actually have the assembly somewhere.

Looking at the openings in the socket and pod, it really looks like they are intentionally oblong. The tab appears to be there on purpose as well. Its certainly possible that the tab was added to the mold as a way to "fix" feeding issues that surfaced after the molds were already made. Its a kinda hokey way to do this but would be a cheap fix if the molds were already done. The addition of the tab to an existing mold would have been a trivial amount of machining compared to making the whole thing over again. There is something about that tab that just screams "afterthought" to me.

Looking at how my adapter sits in the socket, I'm really not expecting trouble but time will tell.

Looking at the openings in the socket and pod, it really looks like they are intentionally oblong. The tab appears to be there on purpose as well. Its certainly possible that the tab was added to the mold as a way to "fix" feeding issues that surfaced after the molds were already made. Its a kinda hokey way to do this but would be a cheap fix if the molds were already done. The addition of the tab to an existing mold would have been a trivial amount of machining compared to making the whole thing over again. There is something about that tab that just screams "afterthought" to me.

That was why I was thinking it was an error. That tab wasn't there in all my sockets from factory, so it might be a ham-handed afterthought later down the line.

The oblong opening I can totally understand; it's simply the result of the the difference of the feed path with another curved surface. I've inspected the design closely and reimplemented the upper drive system for another part I've been working on.

I understand the path of the paint out of the socket -- I just fail to see how canting the top hat would realistically impact feed performance. My earlier sockets without the tab fed just fine, as does the socket I've removed it from. In fact I've learned the hard way that the thing works 100% fine on the few occasions where I didn't rotate the hose retainer all the way and it popped off, releasing the entire pod in about 3 seconds. Mid-game. And I even de-tension my pods to make them softer on paint.

All that said, you guys are probably right -- they probably did do it on purpose. So another razor supercedes my previous one -- never attribute to poor craftsmanship what can be attributed to a poorly thought out design?

That's a good question for Levi. Do the ULE Warp bodies have fixed stovepipes or are they threaded? The Qloader 90 Elbows he's using require a flange on the stovepip to clamp around. If the ULE bodies stovepipe is removable, I don't think it would be much for Levi to make his own stovepipe with the necessary flange.

The ULE Warp bodies are Angel threaded just like the vert feed ULEs. I removed the factory "stovepipe" feedneck from my body and replaced it with the Ion threaded feedneck that AIC sells. This piece has the flange to attach to the low rise elbow.

The feedneck piece would be pretty simple to make, I've been thinking about making one just so I could make it shorter and get everything even tighter to the body.

The one thing standing in my way of doing that though, is the lathe I currently have access to has its leadscrew sitting in a box of parts on a shelf. (The leadscrew is essential for threading operations)

So here are some parts that came in today. Actually got a few parts in these last couple weeks which will allow me to proceed.

The q-loader part of this is sitting on the body. Basically, I'll be drilling a warp-left hole in the body. (Eventually will be a D-slot for the big kahuna project that I'm still designing, but a lot of this was a test fit. All the parts fit like a freakin' glove. Also note the D-slot cut into the mag2cocker adapter.)

For the "neck" (I hate feed necks), I've actually just made a cowl which fits around the body. On one side it actually locks into the warp notch of the rail, so that keeps it from sliding forward and back. The holding tension of the rest of the cowl isn't good enough to hold, say, that SA-17 spring feed while running, but it should be enough to hold just a q-loader elbow and tube. I may augment with a clip made out of spring steel or something if necessary. Oh, and the cowl will cover up the other feed holes in the body when not in use. Single body, multiple feed options.

The part extending out of the body will just be a 0.695 steel Freak insert seeing as nobody has paint that large anyways. I'll have it stick out just enough to make the q-loader elbow happy, and nothing more, and put some sort of ring on it to lock the elbow in place. This should effectively be the lowest profile available (short of a totally custom elbow to begin with).

Levi, I don't suppose I could convince you to make me an aluminum ring segment or two which I can glue to my freak insert to lock that elbow down? Freak insert is 0.740 OD I believe. Cash in hand.

As for the rings.. I'm not really looking to take on more work, but I dig what you've got going so far and I can probably help you out. It would probably be a few weeks before I get to it though, as I have a lot of time sensitive stuff on my plate right now. PM me if you want to talk about these.